The Pureblood World
by Taylortcr
Summary: Voldemort and Bellatrix have a child who is hidden away and raised by House Elves but then goes to live with the Malfoys at age 6. It explores the world of Noble Pureblood Houses and the politics within and between them. This child is very innocent and socially stunted from being raised by house elves, hidden after the war. This is his story growing up. Abandoned. May start again.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This was a fanfiction I started in the past year but abandoned. It was my first ever attempt at writing fanfiction. It had a few thousand words in it so I decided I would go ahead and post it. It's set in the years before Hogwarts and is centered around a child of Voldemort and Bellatrix who is raised by House Elves but then goes to live with the Malfoys. It explores the world of Noble Pureblood Houses and the politics within and between them. This child is very innocent and socially stunted from being raised by house elves, hidden after the war. This is his story growing up. I have no intentions of finishing it as of right now, but I did very much enjoy writing it when I did so there's a possibility I return to it at some point in the future.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to it, Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros.

 **Prologue**

Bellatrix Lestrange was lying splayed on her bed and having not gone through the normal motions that month, performed a charm her mother, Druella, had taught her the day she became a woman. One of many spells her mother taught her, but the second most important. Flicking her wand in a circle above her midsection and casting, "Deprehendere infus", a light blue haze began to appear around her belly a few seconds later. The blue haze appeared in a stark contrast to the black sheets of the bed. This meant she would soon be birthing a son.

Bellatrix had undeniably been in love with the Dark Lord. Every morning when she woke up her first thought was of him. Serving him. Her devotion was unmatched by any other Death Eater. Narcissa could tell you (but so could almost any of the Death Eaters) that it was an unhealthy infatuation, unbecoming of a married pureblood witch. Despite this, Rodolphus seemed to lack the desire to rein her in. The Dark Lord encouraged her flirtations until eventually, he used her. He used her like he used all of his chess pieces, only using her for his earthly desires instead of his regular moves for the conquest of Magical Britain. At the beginning of 1979 during the height of the first wizarding war, Bellatrix knew she had fallen pregnant with his child. The child had to be Voldemort's. It couldn't be anyone else's. She didn't even hate to say it was impossible for it to be Rodolphus' and knew he'd be delighted with her serving the Dark Lord and providing him an heir. Their marriage wasn't based on love anyway, but their traditional pureblood values had to be upheld. Rodolphus had been her betrothed since thirteen.

She left her chambers to confide her pregnancy in the dark lord, entering his throne room where he sat on a carved stone pedestal. She knelt onto her knees, alone in the room, to address him and cast two spells in quick succession behind her to shut the door and silence it. The dark lord's eyebrows knitted together in intrigue. She stuttered and restarted when attempting to speak.

"My lord. I am carrying your child in my womb. I performed the spell. He will be strong." she declared, bowing at his feet, whimpering between the words. She could not predict what his reaction would be.

At first, he seemed shocked, then pensive, and ultimately he told her, "You must keep the child hidden and Rodolphus must blood adopt it." Tom knew he could have no recognized heir, because if he did: he could be deposed. Tom was not leaving his throne to any little baby. Bellatrix smiled, her hair covering her face from the view of the Dark Lord as she rose, turned, and left the throne room to divulge to Rodolphus her grand news. "I will not hear of this again," he called to her on her way out. She sharply turned to meet his words cast through the air before opening the door and scurrying back to the room with a mark of glee on her face.

Rodolphus was in the room after she opened the door. He was sitting at the desk, writing something, when she came into the room. She decided to be blunt, closing the door softly behind her, "I am with child."

"Surely not mine," he said.

"Of course not. It is **his** , but we cannot tell **anyone**. Not even our families. You'll blood adopt him."

"Of course I will. ...Him? We'll have a son. My father will be glad, Rabastan has no plan of changing his status as a bachelor. The muggle women we find are enough for him."

"We mustn't tell your father. Not yet. Not before we're ruling over the mudbloods and traitorous filth. You'll figure something out. No one will know of this child until after we've won, I don't want him being caught in the crossfire. I already have to protect you from getting hit by their stunners, I don't need the extra target space." Bellatrix explained.

"Alright. Of course. But he **will** be my heir." Rodolphus said with determination.

As weeks became months her belly grew and so did her heart. She had never loved anything as much as the seed of her lord growing inside her. _'This must be what all mothers feel'_ , she thought. She used glamours to hide her pregnancy from everyone because she didn't want anyone knowing of the child. They were in the midst of a war, and while her side was winning she knew that if the other side was aware she was carrying a baby then they'd go easy on her and she loved a vicious fight, fifty pounds of baby-weight overweight or not. If her side knew she was carrying a baby they'd treat her like some dainty hourglass, like Narcissa, her sister who didn't even fight, but **she** was a warrior. She was the queen of Voldemort's chess board and she would give him a prince.

She ended up birthing a baby boy, assisted by three house elves, Elly, Rinki, and Ugga. Rodolphus had purchased them separately from the Lestrange group of elves so that this pregnancy and child could be kept secret until after the war was over. They were planning to leave this child with these elves in a seaside manor he had purchased in France. The manor was white stone with red terracotta roofing with turrets on both ends. There was an enclosed garden in the back and a gate that led out to the sea.

When the baby was born, on September 14th, 1979 he had hair as black as night and eyes as blue as the sea outside the window. Twenty seconds later, his hair was blue and his eyes were white. Bella knew he had been blessed with the black family gift-just like that dreadful child of her muddy-wench sister she did not speak of. Atlas was her precious baby boy, the second most precious thing she'd ever loved. Atlas Hyperion Lestrange. She swaddled him in her arms, not feeling any pain from the natural birth in this seaside manor. His baby blanket was blue, which must have been why he adopted the color for his hair. Bella was tired but she knew her duty. This first thing to be done must be what her lord asked of her. "Do the ritual with him while I rest", Bellatrix commanded her husband as Elly the elf wiped a towel across her sweaty forehead.

Rodolphus grabbed the swaddled baby in his blanket and walked to the dining room, placing on a table in the middle of a chalk pentagram he had drawn earlier that week and started to blood adopt him right away, making him the true heir to the House of Lestrange. He took his hand and held it over the forehead of the babe and cut his palm with a severing spell. As the blood dripped onto the baby, he chanted "adore pater sanguis filius mi, accipies sanguinem meum" seven times. He would be raised as his heir as soon as the mudbloods had been scourged from magical Britain.

The elves raised Atlas while Bellatrix and Rodolphus fought the Dark Lord's War. The Dark Lord had never even met the child and had little desire to interact with a child whom he deemed had no value. Hearing of the child's ability to change appearance might come in handy in the future though, which Tom placed into his brain, a brain more intelligent than many of his peers. For now, the babe was useless. This mental ability, this intelligence, would be inherited by Atlas. But not the terrible scarred childhood without love, no, Atlas would have love from Elly, Rinki, and Ugga: undeniable love. Atlas would also inherit the Dark Lord's unmeasurable power and the ability to speak with snakes. He was a true heir in the sense of his abilities. Yet in sensibilities, Atlas would differ. Being raised by House Elves, he would lack many of the social skills children acquire through early childhood social interactions. If his time spent being raised by the elves had been limited to just a couple of years, as Bellatrix and Rodolphus intended, then he would have been fine. But the death eaters did not win the war. The Dark Lord fell on Halloween night, 1981. Atlas was two. Two and still nowhere near running out of things to do, play, and learn from his elves. Bellatrix and Rodolphus visited occasionally, staying for a few hours with their baby boy. Bella always had a hard time saying goodbye until she remembered the dark liquor of her life, Voldemort, and rushed to return to him, disapparating, always leaving Rodolphus with the last goodbyes. When the Dark Lord fell, Bellatrix was overwhelmed with grief. She couldn't believe her master would leave her. He was too smart. Too powerful. Too beautiful. Too godly to die. She knew there must be a way for her to return to his service. She knew it may lay in the cup she had protected for him, so she took Rodolphus in the dead of the night to Diagon Alley to retrieve the golden cup from Gringotts.

There was so much celebration in the streets it was hard keeping cover, but her magical power would keep her (and her husband) disillusioned from view until they got to the bank. Hidden from everyone except Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody. Of course. Of course, he would spot her. Spot her he did. He saw her before she saw him because her guard was down. There were too many people around, cheering and lightning sparks in the air from celebratory wands. Too much light and commotion for her to see the silent streak of red light paralyzing her and (quickly in succession) Rodolphus. They'd be jailed, barely even tried. Azkaban was their new home.

 **CHAPTER ONE**

 **(September 1979-April 17th, 1986)**

 **-The Seaside Manor-**

A newborn baby will call out for its mother. Children crave physical touch and affection. Atlas got that for maybe the first few days of his life. Then his parents left to fight a war. As a baby, his cries had to be answered by Rinki and Elly and Ugga. They were his caregivers. His "parents" only came around every few weeks. He had constant attention and everything he wanted. Except for the presence of human love. Atlas did not miss the occasional presences of his parents after a while. The child became attached to his elves for they were his true parents. His elves taught him history, art, math, languages, etiquette, and more in his forced seclusion. This group of elves had been cheaply and hastily assembled by Rodolphus, attempting to not draw attention from his father who died in the war. They had to acquire elves that came from outside of their families. While Elly, the housekeeper, was a perfectly trained elf for a pureblood family, Rinki and Ugga left a tad to be desired. Rinki, his caregiver, was trained to take care of kids in masse, working at the Diagon Alley orphanage for years. In Rinki's old age-they let her go. She was a bit more lenient than the average elf would be. She was also infinitely more accepting of all kinds of wizards. She saw no pure or half blood or muggle born. She had taken care of the magical muggle born babies, who were left as wards of the state after being abandoned by their muggle parents. Atlas would be raised with tolerance and understanding-yet also the ability to act appropriately in high society circles. Ugga was a whole different mess. As the teacher, he was wildly intelligent: but he liked having just a bit too much "fun" for him to be acceptable as a pureblood tutor for most families. He was by far the most intelligent of the elves he trained with: but he had an obsession with his magic that the house elf agency described as abnormal. He took joy in casting magic. He was curious in pushing it to its limits. Most elves just saw magic as their tool for service. The elves were bought under a disguise by Rodolphus: the agency knew they couldn't give Rinki and Ugga to any noble family, but some random wizard with no name was a perfectly acceptable victim to take these (perfectly fine by a different standard) elves, and the wizard would likely be none the wiser nor care about the elves' slight quirks.

Atlas was a magical prodigy. How could he not be, with parents like Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange? They were the most powerful wizard and witch of their generations. Having a child, they made likely the most powerful wizard seen in recent history. He had a wildly advanced grip on his magic by the time he was six, able to make things move and light aflame, spark, and shimmer. Ugga had almost as much fun learning what Atlas could do. He carried two hereditary gifts, one from each parent. From the black family, he gained the ability to appear however he wanted. He was a metamorphmagus, as he would read in his library. From his father, he gained the ability to speak to snakes, having to discover his ability from encountering a rattlesnake in the garden a month after his 5th birthday.

The elves only left the house to get food and books. He read. He read more than any child should. But he had nothing else to do. He fell in love with knowledge-because that he could acquire in unlimited amounts. He read about his parents in the history books and learned about what they did and who they were. He was horrified. He could never imagine doing what they did and promised himself that he would not be like them and he would be strong enough to stop anyone like them.

Atlas spent his days learning. He learned where the fork goes when eating dinner, learned how to address other wizarding nobles, and most importantly learned about magic. The random changes of appearance that occurred when he was very young he was able to control. The easiest thing to change was hair and eye color. It took some time to learn how to change his height but eventually he could control every aspect of his body. He couldn't grow or shrink too much from his regular size, but he practiced taking on traits of the people he saw in photos in books. He often tried new appearances but kept a core facial and body structure that he felt most reflected him best. He liked to stay somewhat tall for his age, according to the books on childhood development. His face, all adults would say was "cute" and as he grew it would become a face they called "a pretty boy". He loved having changed his hair and eye color to match whatever he was wearing. He kept his hair long, never having a reason to cut it. The hair fell down in wavy curls to his collarbone.

While metamorphing was easy, using his innate ability as a wizard was somewhat harder. Most children couldn't control their accidental magic at all, but Atlas had control. Maybe the control came from his breeding, maybe it came from his nurturing, or maybe it was a combination of both. Whatever it was, Atlas learned at the age of four that he could make objects come to him when he wanted them. He was in his bed, tucked in tight, in the middle of the night, but he wanted one of his beautiful picture books. He turned on the light with his hand, but if he got out from under the silver silk covers, he'd lose their snugness. He knew he was a wizard, so he tried. He tried using magic to call the book to him. He knew what using magic felt like because he was used to changing his appearance and knew that tingling sensation in the core of chest when he used magic. He just directed those sparks to the book, and it jerked off the shelf and onto the floor. He then worked on raising it up and moving it toward him before he grasped it and stared at the beautiful pages. His form of telekinesis grew over time, and anywhere within sight he could easily achieve moving along any object that wasn't too heavy. Ugga would never teach him any spells, saying that such magic was dangerous for a young child.

The rattlesnake that Atlas met in the garden hadn't been very nice. Atlas wasn't expecting for it to yell curses at him when he stepped on it, but the snake had yelled, "stay away from my nest vile dirty human scum." Atlas attempted to talk back and when he did, the snake became unfathomably angry, charging him. He used his magic to raise the snake up in the air and subdue it. He tried to talk to it, surprised he was able to, but the snake raged in response. Elly came out and took the snake away from their gardens, saying she would place it into a new home. After that incident in the garden, he had become intrigued in this ability. Ugga told him this ability was rare as well, but this one came with a negative sentiment. Ugga purchased a book on "parselmouths" for him to read. He was extremely interested in his ability but lacked the ability to practice it. He asked his elves for a pet snake and looked through his books to find what kind of snake he wanted. He asked them for a magical snake, reading a book of the different traits and abilities they had with Ugga. He commented on the beauty of some species and how cool it would be to have a pet snake that had magic. With his request known, the elves made it happen. On his 6th birthday, when they revealed to him his parentage, they also gave him his gift. Inside of a wooden ornate crate, there was a young snake, just a foot long, with metallic rainbow scales. The snake was an "Auroras Viper", an Indonesian snake that he knew could turn invisible slowly and had venom that would temporarily blind its victims. He pulled the snake out of the box with one hand and laid it into his lap.

"Hello." Atlas greeted the snake as it curled around his wrist.

"A speaker?" the snake replied, darting its tongue out.

"Yes, I can speak to you. You've never met someone who could?" Atlas asked.

"No. I was only born a few days ago. Speaking of which, can I have something to eat?" the metallic snake responded looking into Atlas's eyes.

Atlas said, "Well, of course. I'll get you something." Do you have a name?"

"No." plainly said the snake.

"Can I give you one?" Atlas wanted to know.

"Why would I need one?"

"Well, you're going to be my pet."

"Pet? Hmm. I'm not your pet. But bring me food and you can give me a name." the snake said with a wink, a unique ability of this particular species.

Atlas's elves were staring at him in confusion, hope, and curiosity. He carefully kept the snake wrapped around his wrist while thinking of a name and asked Elly, "Can you get me some bacon or chicken or something? He's hungry." Elly disappeared into the kitchen with a pop and reappeared seconds later with a plate full of bacon. Atlas gingerly took the plate, selected a slice, and stuck it near the mouth of his snake. The snake sliced his tongue out, tasting the bacon, and then lurched, eating a whole section of the fatty food. Atlas was still thinking of a name. He himself was named under the traditional Black family naming scheme. His mother Bellatrix was a Black and upheld the family traditions even though he wasn't formally a Black. However, with the death and disinheritance of members of the family, he would likely be the heir of the family within years. He didn't want to uphold his family's traditions though. They were evil. Atlas, a star, was also a Titan and so was Hyperion, his middle name. A Greek mythological name might be fitting then. A name of one of the legendary heroes he adored.

"Your name is now Perseus." Atlas dubbed the snake. His first friend. Perseus grew to be very close to Atlas, becoming more of a companion than a pet. Perseus learned to read in English, and devoured books just like Atlas. Perseus has fallen in love with bacon, likely imprinting on the food as his first feed from "his human".

As Atlas grew older he realized that he was alone, he needed people, needed a family. The only beings he had to talk to were three elves and a magical snake: not a traditional childhood. From his books, he read the Malfoy Family has been imperiused to do the dark lord's bidding and could be a good option to raise him further. (Little did Atlas know that you couldn't believe everything you read in books.) Narcissa Malfoy was his Aunt, and Draco was his cousin, his age. Narcissa and Lucius could take care of him as their ward and he could bring Ugga and Rinki and even Elly along. He knew he needed to take up his role as the Heir to House Lestrange and take up the lordship on his 11th birthday. Lacking friends and any human interaction: he craved meeting someone besides the same three elves and wanted to interact with other humans. He had read about the Noble Houses, and Lestrange and Black were two of the Noble and Most Ancient Houses. 'So was Malfoy, he thought', remembering his book on lineages. The Lestranges and Blacks had vassal houses and could possibly have children to befriend. But at the least, he would have Draco if he went to live with them. He knew this cousin existed from a tapestry on the wall with all of his family members.

In April of 1986, six ('and a half!') year old Atlas was reading about the heroes of the war: those that fought against his father ('both of them', he thought). His elves had told him of how he came to be on his 6th birthday. He knew Rodolphus had blood adopted him. He was the son of Lord Voldemort but had to keep that secret. He was a Lestrange to any and all. He also knew that Rabastan, his uncle, had attacked the Longbottoms with Barty Crouch, Alecto, and Amycus Carrow. The book had a whole chapter on the heroism of the Longbottoms. Rabastan had died, the Carrows fled, and Barty Crouch cursed Frank into immobility. Frank was now paralyzed from the waist down. Alice had survived unharmed and had detained Barty. Azkaban became Barry's new home. The Carrows were found and sent to Azkaban. Atlas read about the Potters, and the "Boy Who Lived" who managed to save the entire wizarding world from dictatorial tyranny. Atlas wanted to somehow make reparations on behalf of his family members and he also wanted to make friends. He wouldn't likely be able to find Harry but he thought he'd likely be able to reach out to the Longbottoms to try and become friends with Neville.

So, Atlas penned a letter.

 _Dear Aunt Narcissa,_

 _I am your nephew, son of Bellatrix and Rodolphus. I am 6 years old and live with house elves. I am quite lonely here and was wondering if I could live with you. My house elf has brought you this letter because I have no owl. Please come back with her._

 _Thanks,_

 _Atlas Hyperion Lestrange_

He gave the letter to Elly and she apparated away, having had been born in magical Britain she would find her way to the Malfoys. He had a conversation with Perseus, letting him know he'd have to stay in his robe pocket (which he could do since he was only about two feet long now) and they couldn't talk to each other. Less than a few hours later, he heard a pop and turned around. Standing next to Elly was a tall blonde woman wearing a white dress with her wand out, but she slowly lowered it looking around. 'This must be Narcissa', Atlas thought. He ran up to her and hugged her, this was the first human he had seen since seemingly forever. He latched his arms around her waist and said "Hello" excitedly. She smelled like vanilla and felt so comfy, her arms wrapping around him to meet his embrace, and his hair color changed to match hers-platinum blonde.

"Hello, little one." she cooed at him while staring at his changing hair. "I'm sorry I didn't come sooner. I didn't know you were here. I can tell you must be Bella's son with that gift. It's been a long time since a Black family member was a metamorphmagus." she said to Atlas, attempting to break the embrace.

He hesitatingly let her do so, thinking about his book on metamorphmagi that had a current registry. "What about Nymphadora Tonks?" he replied, remembering the name of his one other cousin, whose mother was kicked out of the Black family.

"How do you know about her?" she asked, a bit shocked at the knowledge this secluded boy seemed to have.

"Well, she's on the tapestry, and her name is in my book on metamorphmagi. I know that I'm in line to be the head of house black and if I interacted with them then I'd likely be cast from the family as well, but I still consider her a Black. Metamorphmagi are rare. I want as many Black metamorphmagi as possible." Atlas responded, babbling like the excited extrovert he was bound to be (having lived alone) with the childlike innocence of ignorance of family drama.

"Yes. That's all true. You might want to not talk about her at all though, when around our Black relatives. I'd love for you to come and live with my family and I, at Malfoy Manor." Narcissa replied.

"I'll have the elves bring my things. I can't wait to meet Draco. And Lucius! And Arcturus! And everyone! You're the first person I've seen in what seems like my whole life. My memories of my parents are foggy. The last time they were here I was barely 2." Atlas responded, latching onto her and hugging again, nuzzling into the fold of her dress between her arm and neck. The touch of another human felt so warm.

A/N: If you enjoyed this, let me know. If if I get positive feedback I may choose to try and return to this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I in no way, shape, or form have any sort of ownership in Harry Potter. I wish you could own stock in it directly, though.**

 **CHAPTER 2**

 **(Mid-Afternoon, April 17th, 1986)**

 **-Meeting the Malfoys-**

The seaside manor that Atlas grew up in had a dozen rooms, decorated in blues, whites, golds, and silvers. His elves were able to quickly gather his personal wardrobe and items and pack them into a trunk while he gave Narcissa a parting tour. The foyer led into the grand salon which was bordered by a library and parlor on one side and a kitchen and dining room on the other. On the top floor, there were multiple bedrooms, but only one was used by him. Once they had gathered his things Narcissa clasped his hand and they apparated to the Parisian Gringotts where she had been before. The ceiling was encrusted with gold but he only saw it for a flash of a second. From there, she apparated again to the entry hall of Malfoy Manor. The whole floor and ceiling was white marble, with columns leading past large great rooms on both sides. As soon as they popped in an elf popped up in front of him. Not one of his.

"Who are you?" he asked the elf.

"My name is Tilly, sir," she replied nodding her head in greeting.

"Please take his luggage to the large guest room at the end of the west hall next to Draco's," Narcissa asked of stilly. Before she even finished, Tilly had grabbed the trunk and popped away.

"My, my, my, what did the kneazle drag in…" a man's voice boomed as a tall blond man with long hair and a cane walked down the hall, coming close to Narcissa, and kissing her, after looking at him. ' _This must be Lucius.'_ thought Atlas.

"I am Heir Lucius of House Malfoy. I hear you'll be staying with us for awhile so please, call me Uncle Lucius." the man spoke to him clearly.

"I am Heir Atlas of House Lestrange. Well met. Thank you for your hospitality. I hope I am no burden, I just felt it time to leave the bubble that my parents created for me." Atlas responded with the words he had practiced and waited for a beat before remembering the traditional etiquette of letting family address you informally, "Please call me Atlas. Both of you."

"Well met. I am sure you will be no burden but in fact, you should have been with us all along, a young wizard's place is not with house elves", Lucius said to him with a slight twinkle in his eye. "Would you like to meet Draco, your cousin?" he asked Atlas.

"I would love to." Atlas eagerly responded, excited to finally see someone his own age. Lucius then called an elf and had it pop off to tell Draco to come here. Then he addressed Atlas again. "You have Malfoy features, which is very interesting," he said to Atlas. Atlas, being cute, changed his hair to a golden color and his eyes to purple and grew a foot in height before returning back to the blond, blue eyes, average height kid he was appearing as before. Lucius's mouth dropped open and then grinned with excitement. "Metamorphmagi are very rare indeed. It is quite a boon to be welcoming such a gifted individual into our home as our ward. I know you will enjoy it here. And anything you need we can provide." and then he waited for a beat and said, "within reason.".

Atlas could hear the click of shoes coming from down a different hallway before turning the corner and seeing a somewhat tall white-blonde haired boy with grey eyes wearing green robes come down the hallway. He had a look of confusion on his face. Atlas thought it likely he had no idea what was going on. The conventions of introductions among nobility is that the lesser titled person spoke first, addressing the higher titled person. Draco, however, didn't know who he was. Draco just stood there, waiting for Atlas while Atlas waited for Draco. After a second, Draco assumed he must not be noble so said, "Hello, I'm Draco Malfoy."

"I am Heir Atlas of House Lestrange. Nice to meet you, cousin." Atlas said and then hugged Draco excitedly. Draco was a bit shocked and tensed for a second but then just settled into the hug because if this boy was who he said he was (and who he would no doubt be if his parents brought him here) then he was his cousin. Once Atlas released he said, "I'm Bellatrix's son."

Draco responded, "I didn't know she had a son. I didn't know I had a cousin. I apologize for my address. Well met." Draco had always wanted a cousin. He had found out that he actually did have an older cousin who he couldn't speak about because her father was a muggleborn and the black family had disinherited her mother and ever since then he always felt like he was missing something.

Then Lucius said, "Neither did we, son. We just found out today. Atlas is going to be staying with us for at least a while, can you show him around before coming to dinner?"

Draco replied, "Yes, father."

"Atlas, we will be joined by our families." Narcissa said finally. He wondered who exactly that would mean.

Draco then took Atlas's hand happily and walked down the hall as Atlas waved goodbye to Draco's parents with his free hand. His parents secretly disillusioned themselves and followed the pair of boys, because they really had little idea where he came from. He was a child after all, and therefore harmless but still a tad suspicious.

"So, who raised you?" Draco asked.

"My house elves," Atlas responded. "I haven't really interacted with people since I was two."

"Wow! That must be nice. My house elves always do what I tell them to but my parents tell me what to do all the time!" "It must suck being alone though."

"Yeah, it is," Atlas replied, followed by an uncomfortable silence as they continued their walk through the marble halls filled with ornate fixtures, painting, oriental carpets, and wooden doors. Draco pointed out the ballroom, the formal and informal dining and living rooms, the drawing room, his parents' wing, the kitchens, the library, and other rooms. Everything was as grand as if it was asking for a guest's compliment.

"Well, you look like us," Draco said, stopping in front of a door.

"I look like anything." Atlas laughed, changing his hair blue. Draco peered closer, eyes wide.

"That's so cool!" Draco exclaimed. "Can you look like other people?" He asked. Atlas nodded his head as it slowly shifted into a perfect copy of Draco's face and his height grew just a bit to match. They looked the exact same. Narcissa has to stifle a gasp in her disillusioned form. She had never seen the powers of a Metamorphmagi in person. Soon enough he shifted back into the golden-haired boy that she had met earlier that day at his home. Draco had stopped right in front of the door to his bedroom. A large dark wood door that had ornate carvings, likely twelve feet tall and quite grand. "Well. This is my room", he said. "I'm not sure where you'll be staying."

"They said I'd be staying next to you at the end of the Hall, so I guess there?" Atlas spoke, looking at an identical door many feet down to the left that ended the hallway.

"Well, I can take you there too," Draco said, opening the door. The boys stepped inside but left the door open. Inside, the whole place was decorated in green and silver. The room was very large, framed in by bookshelves on three sides and large windows on the other. The bed was situated on the wall of the door, looking out onto the woods behind the house. The bed was a large four poster with silver silk sheets and a green quilt. Across the room, there were a couple doors which Atlas assumed likely led to a bathroom and closet. Between the doors were a desk and a green cushioned chair made of dark wood, identical to the bed. On the closer side wall, there was a fireplace which hosted two green armchairs and a table with wizarding chess set up to play. The room was truly beautiful.

"Would you like to play a game of chess?" Draco asked Atlas.

"Of course. I'll have Ugga get my set." Ugga popped up in front of him a second later, bearing the set, handing it to him, winked at him, and popped away.

"That's your elf?" Draco asked for confirmation with a slight raising of his mouth.

"Yes. Would you like the first move?" Atlas asked while taking a seat. He could feel the flames of the fire a few feet away as he got close and slid into the leather chair. This felt like it could be friendship. This felt like it could be family.

They played two games, the first being a draw and Atlas winning the second. There hadn't been much for him to do at his seaside manor, so he had spent plenty of his leisure time to master chess with Ugga. Then they were called to dinner by Minky, Draco's elf and they made their way through the halls to one of the many formal dining rooms. Narcissa and Lucius were already seated next to each other at the end of the table and adjacent to them was an older man with hair as white as Lucius's but much shorter and somewhat balding who must be Abraxas Malfoy, sitting at the head of the table in a chair just a bit grander than the rest. The room had 12 high-backed seats made of dark wood and plush white cushions with hanging golden tassels around a rectangular dark wooden table. He had studied the family trees of all of the noble houses of wizarding Britain but most extensively those related to him. He knew that across the table from Lord Abraxas Malfoy was Arcturus Black, a wiry yet stately old man with a full head of black hair. Sitting next to Narcissa (and adjacent to Lord Black) were her parents, Cygnus and Druella Black. Both sitting a bit more stately and much younger than Arcturus, Cygnus appeared like a spitting image of him and Druella's blonde matched Narcissa's. Cygnus and Druella were his grandparents. They had one daughter imprisoned, one wed with a single son, and one disowned. Cygnus's parents, Pollux and Irma Black were seated at the table as well, Irma being sandy-haired and Pollux looking tired. Pollux's sister, Cassiopeia, and Arcturus wife, Melanie, were sitting across the table with a raven-haired woman, Regina Lestrange, the younger sister of Rabastan and Rodolphus. Atlas knew of most of those at the table, but of course, had never met them. This was the biggest social situation he had been in and the most people he had ever seen. Atlas took just a moment to take all of this in before nodding his head down at both Arcturus and Abraxas.

"Hello, It's nice to finally meet everyone. I'm that I've been away for so long, it wasn't my choice. I am Heir Atlas of House Lestrange. Well met." because this was technically Abraxas's home he greeted Atlas next,

"Hello, nice to meet you, child. I am Lord Abraxas Malfoy."

"Well met. " she said.

Arcturus then followed, "Hello, nice to meet you, son. I am Lord Arcturus Black. This is my wife Melanie, cousin Pollux and his wife Irma and their children and your grandparents, Cygnus and Druella. My cousin Cassiopeia is also here."

Regina then curtsied because he was her head of house, "Heir Lestrange. Well met. I knew only of your existence because of my inability to claim the title of Lady Lestrange. I'm glad you've finally made your presence known. Gringotts has allowed me to operate as regent in your steed and I've led our house into more profit in each year of these past six years than any of the years in the decade before. I hope you will be pleased with my service as your regent."

"I have. My thanks. Well met." Atlas said and then gave his Aunt a hug before walking over to Druella and Cygnus and making the rounds of greeting all his family members more affectionately.

When they all sat down the first question on everyone's mind was his powers as a metamorphmagus that Narcissa and Lucius had informed them of when calling them here. All members of the Black family had been pretty disappointed that no one had had the gift in the past century except for the daughter of a disowned daughter.

"We hear you have a gift," Arcturus asked Atlas after he had sat down.

"Yes. Yes, I do. Will everyone always want to know? It seems like it's been pretty important to everyone I've met. Magical talents must be truly rare." Atlas inquired.

"Yes. I do reckon it will be like that, no matter who you're with or where you go." Arcturus replied. There was a beat of silence.

"May we see this gift?" Druella, his grandmother, asked with a slightly pointed tone as if should have already displayed his power. So, he changed his facial features to become a spitting image of Arcturus. Black Hair, black eyes, sharp features. They all gasped, and Cassiopeia called out, "He's a true Black!". Atlas thought he wasn't much of anything. It was hard to have a family identity when you had never met your family. However, having people being interested in him was delightful.

Dinner was amazing and he had to remember all of his etiquette lessons to correctly eat the five courses. Perseus has stayed hidden perfectly in his pocket since he had arrived. Druella asked him critically about his elves. It seemed all the woman could do was complain. Cygnus seemed to defer to wife. Not much of a substance of a man. Cassiopeia was fun, but in a way that derived from her eccentricities. Regina seemed like very much the independent woman, someone who just wanted to be left alone. Atlas was actually impressed with Arcturus. It seemed he didn't hold quite the most rigid views of staunch traditionalism. He was quite able to adapt and seemed perfectly comfortable conversing with a six-year-old. Of course, while Atlas had these expressions of people, they weren't in such quite complicated terms. Atlas didn't think he'd find much love from the extended family but he had hopes for Arcturus, Cassiopeia, Regina, Lucius, Narcissa, and he already knew he liked Draco. He was definitely hoping Narcissa could be the mother he never had.

He had expected that maybe one of the other families members at the table would want to raise him, but they all seemed to agree this would be the best place for him. Cygnus and Druella hardly wanted to take a child back into their home and knew their daughter could raise a pureblood heir perfectly well, considering how Draco was already turning out. Draco beamed at that statement, feeling prideful.

Regina, while living, liked her solitude and just asked to be invited over for a weekly chat on the state of House Lestrange as they were basically the last of the main line left. The war had done much damage, and she had managed to stay out of it, which Atlas respected.

All the other family members were definitely too old to raise a child, and so Atlas's condition became permanent. He would remain a ward of Lucius and Narcissa with Narcissa as his guardian and Regina would continue as regent of House Lestrange. Atlas was quite happy with that.

Once dinner was over and the extended family had left, Atlas went to his room, having had quite the long day. He followed Draco back to his room knowing his was adjacent to it. Going through the door, there was a small room with bookshelves on all four sides, a grand fireplace, and a few loveseat couches framing the fireplace. Going across the small room and through an arch, the room beyond looked very much like Draco's, except for a bay window which was in the middle of the wall of windows on the far wall. This room was decorated in white and grey, very much a guest bedroom in its neutral palette. ' _He would have to change that soon'_ , he thought.

He got ready for bed, revealed the light inside the ever-lit lantern beside the bed by shifting the frame of the copper meta exposing the light hidden within, brushed his teeth, dressed in nightclothes, and pulled out a book on the Black family history, being intrigued by meeting some of the members. After about an hour he heard a light knock on the door.

"Come in." he said. The door silently and slowly swung open, Narcissa stepping through the threshold in a white nightgown.

"It's getting a little late. I think it's time for bed," she said, coming to sit on the edge of his four-poster bed, laid out in a similar set-up to Draco's just in white and grey.

"Every night with my elves at the seaside manor, I would get ready for bed and be met by one of them to tell me a story, read me a story, or teach me something. Each day I want to wake up each day better than the last and this routine made sure of that. I guess I've kind of been waiting for that to happen, hoping you or Lucius would come and be able to take that over." he said, quietly and taking a long time to get the words out.

"I'd love to, little one. I have just the story for tonight," she said, as he snuggled further into his sheets, tucking his book to the side. She tucked the sheets and began to speak, "I was 10 years old and my sister Andromeda had just left for Hogwarts. It was her first year. I had always been very close to her and we shared a room by choice as kids. This would be my first night sleeping in that room alone, and her first night sleeping without me. I didn't feel as comfortable as I normally felt and I didn't have her there with me. I was excited for her but I'd be alone for a year with just my parents and the lessons I had with tutors and the events I had with friends. I knew she would be making new friends but I knew she was probably thinking of me right then as well. No matter how far two Blacks are apart, we must remember we are all underneath the same stars. I looked out my window, up at the sky, and knew I was seeing the same stars as her. We were together even when we weren't. You must remember that too. Not just for Blacks either. We are all here in this world together, and we must learn to live together. I for one am glad you are going to be living with us." she said, poking him in the belly. "Hope that story did the trick. Now time for bed! We'll have much to do and discuss tomorrow." she finished, closing the magically lit lantern by his bedside.

A/N:If you liked this, leave a comment. I may possibly return to it.


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